Hitherto catalysts for simultaneously oxidizing carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) and reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) have been extensively used as exhaust gas purifying catalysts installed to internal combustion engines of automotive vehicles and the like. A typical example of these catalysts is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-20307, in which an alumina coat layer is formed on a refractory substrate and contains noble metals such as Pd, Pt and/or Rh and additionally contains, as assistant catalyst, oxides of rare earth metal such as Ce and/or La and/or of base metal such as Ni, if necessary.
However, such a catalyst is largely affected by an exhaust gas temperature and a set air-fuel ratio of the engine, and therefore cannot reduce NOx particularly when exhaust gas of the engine is oxygen-excessive (i.e., has an air-fuel ratio leaner than stoichiometric value). In this regard, Japanese Patent No. 2600429 discloses a so-called rich spike process as a method of reducing NOx when exhaust gas of the engine is oxygen-excessive, using a NOx reducing catalyst for promoting reduction reaction of NOx. In this method, NOx is trapped when exhaust gas takes an oxygen-excessive or lean atmosphere (having the air-fuel ration leaner than the stoichiometric value), and then the trapped NOx is released and reduced by temporarily lowering an oxygen concentration of exhaust gas so that exhaust gas takes exhaust gas takes a rich atmosphere (having the air-fuel ratio richer than the stoichiometric value).